Key Takeaways
- The 10 largest US stock funds put in mixed performances amid the market downturn inflicted by the Iran war.
- Fidelity Contrafund ranked the highest in its category out of the largest active stock funds in the first quarter.
- Among the largest passive stock funds, the highest-ranking name was the Invesco QQQ Trust.
For the largest stock funds, the double whammy of the selloff in technology stocks and the market impact of the Iran war proved a challenging environment. Each of the 10 largest actively managed US stock funds posted losses in the first quarter of 2026, although six outperformed the average fund in their category. Eight finished the quarter in negative territory, while half beat their peers.
Among the largest active funds, the best performer within its category was the $158 billion Fidelity Contrafund FCNKX, which landed in the 13th percentile of the large-cap growth category after losing 5.4% in the first quarter. The worst performer was the $213 billion American Funds Washington Mutual Fund RWMGX, which performed near the bottom of the large-cap value category with a 3.1% loss even as other value funds ended in the green.
On the passive side, the best performer among the largest stock funds relative to its category was the $372 billion Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ, which ranked in the 13th percentile of the large growth category as it fell 5.9%. Lowest ranked was the $210 billion Vanguard Mid Cap Index Fund VMCPX, which fell 0.6%, placing it in the 71st percentile of the mid-cap blend category.
Each quarter, we review the short- and long-term performance of the largest US stock funds. Many of them, such as the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, are core holdings in portfolios, especially retirement accounts. This list includes both traditional mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
When evaluating funds, investors should focus on long-term returns across multiple years and market cycles. However, shorter-term returns can provide valuable information about biases within strategies.
Performance data for this article was based on the lowest-cost share class for each fund. Some funds may be listed with share classes not accessible to individual investors outside retirement plans. The individual investor versions of those funds may carry higher fees, reducing returns to shareholders. For longer-term returns, if a share class was launched more recently than the period mentioned, an older share class was substituted if one exists.
The Largest Active Stock Funds: The Best Q1 Performers
While all 10 of the largest active stock funds posted losses in the first quarter, the $116 billion American Funds American Mutual Fund RMFGX lost the least. Its 1.3% loss put it in the 83rd percentile of the large-cap value category. The fund’s peers averaged a 1.6% gain, while the benchmark Morningstar US Large-Mid Cap Broad Value Index declined 1.0%.
The Fidelity Contrafund performed the best relative to its category. The average first-quarter loss for funds in the category was 8.8%, while the Morningstar US Large-Mid Cap Broad Growth Index fell 8.1%. The largest contributors to the Fidelity Contrafund’s returns were GE Vernova GEV, a power turbine manufacturer, which rose 33.7% in 2026, and energy giant Exxon Mobil XOM, which rose 42.0%. Each contributed 0.3 points to the fund’s returns. Both are relatively small holdings, with Vernova having a 1.1% weight in the portfolio and Exxon a 0.9% weight.
The Largest Active Stock Funds: The Worst Q1 Performers
The $107.4 billion JPMorgan Large Cap Growth Fund JLGMX fell the most of any of the largest active stock funds during the first quarter. Its 8.5% decline put it in the 32nd percentile of the large-cap growth category. What cost the fund the most was its 6.7% weighting to Microsoft MSFT, which fell 23.3% in the quarter, knocking 1.8% off the fund’s returns. The fund’s 7.2% weighting to Alphabet GOOG, which fell 8.5%, cost it 0.8 points.
The fund that did the poorest relative to its category was American Funds Washington Mutual Fund, landing in the 95th percentile of the large-cap value category based on a 3.1% loss. Its largest detractor was its 4.9% weighting to Microsoft, which cut 1.3 percentage points from its quarterly returns.
The Largest Passive Stock Funds: The Best Q1 Performers
Two funds posted positive returns for the quarter. One was the $174 billion Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund VSCPX, which gained 1.9%, landing in the 44th percentile of the small-cap blend category. Its peers gained 1.6%, while the Morningstar US Small Cap Index was flat. The other was the $238.5 billion Vanguard Value ETF VTV, which gained 3.3%, putting it in the 22nd percentile of the large value category.
These funds benefited from the recent stock market rotation, wherein the large growth stocks that had driven the market for much of the last few years underperformed, while value and smaller-cap names held up better.
The best fund relative to its category, however, was the large-growth Invesco QQQ Trust, which fell by 5.9%, putting it in the 13th percentile of its category. The largest contributor to the fund’s returns was its 1.4% weight in chip firm Applied Materials AMAT, which added 0.4 points to its returns. The second-largest contributor was its 2.4% weighting to chipmaker Micron Technology MU, which added 0.3 points.
The Largest Passive Stock Funds: The Worst Q1 Performers
The $336 billion Vanguard Growth ETF VUG posted the largest loss of any of the biggest index funds, falling 11.3% in the quarter. Its 9.8% weighting to Microsoft was its biggest detractor, costing it 2.5 points. The fund’s double-digit loss puts it in the 69th percentile of the large growth category. On average, funds in the category lost 5.9% in the quarter, while the US Large-Mid Cap Broad Growth Index fell 8.2%.
By comparison, the Vanguard Growth ETF rose 1.8% in the last quarter of 2025, funds in the large growth category averaged a 0.6% return, and the US Large-Mid Cap Broad Growth declined 0.2%.
Long-Term Performance of the Largest Active Stock Funds
For the three years ending March 31, seven of the 10 largest active funds outperformed their Morningstar categories, and five funds earned spots in the top quintiles.
The highest-ranking fund over the past three years was the Fidelity Contrafund, which ranked in the 3rd percentile of the large growth category. Two other funds placed in the top decile of their categories over the same period: the $177 billion American Funds The Investment Company of America Fund RICGX and the $158 billion American Funds Fundamental Investors Fund RFNGX.
Long-Term Performance of the Largest Passive Stock Funds
All 10 of the largest index funds outperformed their categories over the past three years. While none ranked in the top decile, half ranked in the top quartile. The highest-ranking fund was the Invesco QQQ Trust, which ranked in the 16th percentile of the large growth category over the trailing three-year period and sixth in its category over the trailing five-year period.
S&P 500 funds (all of which are in the large-cap blend category) were among the top performers. That includes the $1.5 trillion Vanguard 500 Index Fund VFFSX, the $721 billion Fidelity 500 Index Fund FXAIX, the $715 billion iShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV, the $651.6 State Street S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, each of which averaged returns of roughly 18.3% over the past three years.